Category: Current Awareness

Evidence based summaries

Recent research and reports

Should antidepressants be used for major depressive disorder? Jakobsen JC. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2020;25(4):130.
The benefits of antidepressants seem to be minimal and possibly without any importance to the average patient with major depressive disorder. Antidepressants should not be used for adults with major depressive disorder before valid evidence has shown that the potential beneficial effects outweigh the harmful effects.

Clinical pathways as a mobile device. Please log in via Athens to access the whole article. Barrett J. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2020;25(4):131-137.
Overall, this project supports the development of a mobile application based on the design principles used in the clinical pathways. Providers did indeed use the clinical pathways. They found the pathways easy to use and helped provide evidence-based care in clinical practice. While the iPad was useful for some participants, a small sized tablet and phone would be preferred by others. Future work will be undertaken on mobile application development using multiple screen sizes.

Dementia prevention, intervention and care. The Lancet 2020;:doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6. Excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury, and air pollution have been added to the list of potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia. Together the 12 listed modifiable risk factors account for around 40% of worldwide dementia’s.

Better health

A new national campaign has launched to support people to loose weight

With current data showing that obese people are significantly more likely to become seriously ill and be admitted to intensive care with serious illnesses including COVID-19 -compared to those with a healthy BMI- the campaign encourages adults to introduce healthier lifestyle changes to help people achieve a healthy weight. Support has been identified to eat better, drink less alcohol and get active through access to a range of apps including; Easy Meals, Food Scanner, Couch to 5k and Active 10.

The campaign has partnered up with a range of partners offering exclusive discounts including:

  • one month free membership with WW and Weight Watchers Reimagined
  • £2o discount for online memberships to Slimming World
  • 86p a week memberships at Get Slim

To find out more click here.

New team member

Hello from your new outreach librarian

Hello everyone,

I wanted to formally introduce myself. My name is Katie Roper and I am the newly appointed outreach librarian across Lancashire and South Cumbria. I have a background in education, and it was during my time teaching in Birmingham Children’s Hospital, I realised I wanted to work for the NHS rather than alongside it.. now here we are.

My role involves supporting all staff, students, and service users to effectively and efficiently use electronic resources to make decisions and judgements based on evidence based practice.

Struggling to find evidence in your field of work? Short of time to find your own evidence?  Contact the library service to aid you with a literature search. Training can also be provided to support your own professional development.

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Need help keeping up to date with current information? Contact us for KnowledgeShare request forms or speak to a member of our team where alerts can be personalised to suit your needs.

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Do you know where to find the latest clinical information?  Contact the library team to ensure you have access to a wide range of resources- including; Athens, BMJ, Anatomy. TV,  individual journals and e-books accessible at home and work.

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We are here to support you throughout. Feel free to pop into the library for free tea and coffee, computer access, hotdesking spaces and relaxed meeting areas.

Looking forward to working collaboratively with you all. Please send any completed forms to: academic.library@lancashirecare.nhs.uk. Remember to subsribe to this blog, using the link on the top right of the page for daily updates, bulletins and current awareness updates. Alternatively, feel free to contact me with any questions, queries or support needs; katie.roper@lancashirecare.nhs.uk

Katie Roper